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Paul calls out these people trying to yoke people back to the law. In chapter 6 verse 13 he says they are just trying to use you guys for their own benefit: “For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.”

This yoke of bondage was spoken of in the dispute in Acts 15 where men came saying you must be circumcised to be saved and keep the law. Notice Paul says they will be saved too, verses 8-11 say: “And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”

1. The law is a burden, trying to keep the hundreds of laws and “yoke” ones self to it is not freedom. This bondage had many rules like getting circumcised, animal sacrifices, dietary laws, purification rituals, etc. We have been set free from the law but for what? To serve God and one another. Instead of focusing on the law and hundreds of commandments consuming our minds and time, we focus on the two commandments Jesus gave, love God and love each other (Matthew 22:37-40, 1 John 4:21).

   1. Galatians 5:13 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

   2. 1 Peter 2:16 says “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.”

Paul is refuting works based salvation here showing that if you trust in Christ plus something it results in you not having Christ. He profits you nothing, in other words He can’t provide you eternal life, He can’t save you as you are now trying to save yourself by a work. It is either grace (Christ alone) or works (Christ plus something) Paul tells us in Romans 11:6, there is no middle ground, it is one or the other. Any Jesus that requires a work is a false Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4):

1. Trusting in Christ + circumsion = no salvation

2. Trusting in Christ + water baptism = no salvation

3. Trusting in Christ + living holy = no salvation

4. Trusting in Christ = salvation

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Just because someone believes Christ plus something they may be saved and have just have gotten confused and added this on, what Paul was warning the Galatians of. In Acts 15:5 we see “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses”. These Pharisees were believers but were trying to get people to be circumcised just like the Judizars here in Galatia. We see throughout Paul and Barnabas correct them and later in verse 29 give a few things they should do, none of which relate to salvation. So in summary, it seems someone can be saved and yet confused on the doctrine of salvation.

James 2:10 tells us the same thing “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

It is either by works or by faith you are saved, it cannot be a mixture as Paul says in Romans 11:6 “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

As discussed above with Christ shall profit you nothing we have the same idea here Paul is wording a bit different to drive the point home. Christ will have no effect unto you if you try to trust in Him and something else. The effect Christ should have is saving your soul but this effect will be negated if you try to receive justification by your works and not faith. They would be rejecting the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice and work on the cross

1. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1

2. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” Romans 3:28.

The “ye are fallen from grace” some say means that you once were saved by grace and not you can lose your salvation if you stop trusting in Jesus alone. But a few examples as we gave above don’t seem to convey or parallel this meaning. We have the Pharisees in Acts 15 pushing works after salvation and they are called believers (Acts 15:5). The ones that they are pushing this on Paul says they are saved just like him (Acts 15:11). He gives no warning of them losing it but more of a rebuke that keeping the law and circumcision aren’t needed. In Acts 15:8 he makes it clear they are saved and the Holy Spirit proves this as a witnesss: “And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us”.

Being “led of the Spirit” is equivalent to being saved. If saved, you are led of the Spirit and not under the law Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The following verses make it clear we are the “not under the law”:

1. Galatians 3:24-25 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

2. Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace”

3. Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

There is a large misconception when people read this passage and specifically this verse. They think if a Christian does things in this list they won’t “inherit the kingdom of God”. The intersting thing is that if you were to think this, you deny the entire point of the book of Galatians. In verse 1 above Paul is explaining the freedom in Christ and in verse 13 he then admonishes them saying but don’t use this freedom to just go about sinning.

If we must stop sinning in order to go to heaven, or stop certain sins in this list, we must keep the whole law in its entirety:

1. Just in verse 3 above Paul says this “For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.”

2. James 2:10 tells us the same thing “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Verse 4 is probably the most clear that if we try to make ourselves right by stopping sin it is like we don’t have Christ: “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law”. We are not justified by law keeping or not doing certain sins but rather faith (Romans 3:28, Romans 5:1, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3:24-25).

In conclusion, what is Paul saying here? This parallels 1 Corinthians 5 where he is listing the type of people going to hell and to stop having them litigate the believers affairs. He is not warning or speaking of Christians here (unless you are a false Christian). The list of sins that describe those that walk in the flesh are not referring or warning born-again Christians. Rather, he is admonishing his born-again Christian audience to not do these things. We have a debt or obligation to walk in the Spirit (Romans 8:12). Hebrews 10 and specifially verse 14 is clear, we are made perfect by the sacrifice of Jesus “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”